Focusing on the southeast region of the United States, we have been reading and learning about the main industries, traditions, weather patterns, and people of the southeast.
We read in our My World Social Studies book that peaches, cotton, and peanuts are three of the main crops grown in the southeast.
We just happen to live to in the leading county for the production of peaches here in Alabama and only 5 minutes down the road from us is a peach farm so we went peach picking a couple of weekends ago.
We picked 2 baskets full which ended up being 95 peaches!
We boiled some to make peach jam.
We made 3 large jars of peach jam.
Peach Jam
10 cups of peaches, peeled and chopped
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 packets (1 box) liquid pectin
Fill your canning pot with water and begin to bring it to temperature. Wash your jars and rings in warm soapy water and set aside. Put your lids in a small pot of water and heat (but do not boil) in order to soften the sealing compound.
Add peaches and sugar to a large, non-reactive pot. Stir so that the peaches begin to release their juice and mingle with the sugar. Bring to a boil and add cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice and let jam continue to cook for about fifteen minutes. If the fruit hasn’t broken down much after that time is up, use a potato masher or immersion blender (taking care not to burn yourself with hot jam) to break down the chunks. Add pectin and bring to a rolling boil for a full five minutes.
Turn off the heat under the jam and fill jars. Wipe rims and apply lids. Screw on the bands and lower into the water. Process in the hot water bath 10 minutes. When time is up, remove from water and cool on the counter. When the jars are cooled, check the seal by pressing on the top of the jar. If there’s no movement, the jar has sealed. Store up to one year in a cool, dark place.
We made a peach pie.
Missouri Peach Pie
Pastry for a 2-crust pie
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 cups sliced, peeled peaches
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 tbsp butter
Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt.
Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and almond extract.
Add sugar-flour mixture to the peaches and mix gently. Pour into a pastry lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust and pinch the edges. Cut vents.
Brush the top of the pie with cream and sprinkle with sugar. (this is optional but makes a pretty pie.)
Bake at 450 deg F for 40-45 minutes, or until juices are bubbly and the crust is golden.
Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.
And peach crumb bars. With the rest we ate them by themselves or with cottage cheese for breakfast.
Peach Crumb Bars
Yield: 24 bars
For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the Filling:
5 cups diced or sliced peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2. For the Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
3. For the Filling: Place the diced (or sliced) peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.
4. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
For the weather patterns of the southeast we focused on hurricanes. This was Camden's favorite book that we read.
We read about the Appalachian mountains and located the range on our map.
We watched a few videos from
Zane Education that covered the geography, people, and culture of the southeast.
And we read the following books as we were discussing each state in the southeast region.......
I love this book. It's set in Charleston, South Carolina. A little girl describes the "music" she hears every day in her city which is actually the sounds of the city. Ragtime and jazz enthusiasts will recognize the title of this book. A sassy piece for solo piano, "Carolina Shout" was one of James P. Johnson's earliest and most successful compositions. Johnson is perhaps best remembered for introducing The Charleston in his 1923 musical show Runnin' Wild.
A book about Tennessee.
A book about Georgia and a book about a little girl that lives in the north and travels to the south for a visit. She is shocked by some of the things she sees.
We touched only briefly on the history of slavery and the civil rights period in the southeast because we touch on it every year during February when we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and we will be touching on slavery pretty heavily during the rowing of one of our upcoming FIAR books.
We read about the many swamps and marshes spread throughout the southeast region.
The kids stickers on their USA map.
